EGYPT: Gift of the Nile

The Wafd (1924-39):

The Wafd was a nationalist and liberal political party who posed a big threat to both the King of Egypt, and Great Britain, who were both the major governing bodies of Egypt at the time. The Wafd was a threat mainly because it supported parliamentary democracy. This not only went against the King’s autocratic rule, but could also potentially be a threat to power in Great Britain. “To the British, a democratic system meant that in any free election the Wafd would be voted into power. The British believed that the Wafd in power was a threat to their own power in the country.” (Library of Congress) So, Britain needed to keep this from happening by using the King to contain the power of the Wafd.

Egypt and the Wafd during and after the War (1939-45):

During WW2, Egypt was vital to Britain’s defense. Many telephone poles and other means of communication ran through Egypt so that Great Britain could contact the five sevenths of their land that was located past the Suez. So, Britain needed to know that they had

Wafdist leader, Mustafa Nahhas

Egypt’s support during the War. Egypt, however, regarded the War as a strictly European conflict and they wanted nothing to do with it. Battle after battle, Egypt became increasingly sure that Germany would win the War. Many Egyptians actually wanted the Germans to win the War not so much because they agreed with everything the Nazis were doing, but because to them, anyone who was going against their enemy- in this case Great Britain, was their friend.

However, the Wafdist government fell in 1944 after the Wafdist leader, Mustafa Nahhas’ reputation was ruined because of a “black book” that waswritten about him and his corrupt ideals. The Wafd saw the War as an opportunity to get back into power after it split into groups at the end of World War 2. The two most popular groups were the __Muslim Brotherhood__ and __Young Egypt__.

The Revolution of 1952:

By 1945, Egyptians no longer wanted to be under the control of an imperialistic European power. Riots broke out all over the country and after many negotiations, Britain agreed to withdraw most of their troops, still keeping some in the Suez Canal area to protect it.

Before the revolution of 1952, Egypt was constitutional monarchy, though the King (who was installed by the British) had the most power, causing an unstable government. Egyptians became increasingly unhappy with their King and system of government for many other reasons and they wanted

The Free Officers after the coup (1953)

the military to take over the country because they believed the military would protect them best. So, a group of nationalist officers in the armed forces took all of the desires of the peopleand came up with a form of government that would most please them. These men, called the Free Officers, led the revolution of 1952. The Free Officers (led by Gamal Abdel Nasser and Anwar Sadat) did a coup d’etat and King Faruq was forced to abdicate his crown. After the coup d'etat, the military took over the Egyptian government with Muhammad Najib (One of the Free Officers) as the president and Prime Minister of Egypt.

Watch the first 5 minutes:

Egypt’s Independence:
Egypt became a British colony in 1882. In 1922, Egypt got it’s independence from Great Britain though British troops still stayed in the Suez Canal area. In reality, their self-rule truly began in 1952 when Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser came into power after Najib.

In 1953, Egypt was officially declared a Republic, free from British influence.

Egypt & the Arab World:
Egypt went from being a Westernized state to being an Islamic state very quickly. When Syria “For a variety of conflicting reasons, the political leaders of Syria in January 1958 asked Nasser for a union between their two countries. Nasser... insisted on strict conditions for union, including a complete union rather than a federal state and the abolition of the Baath (Arab Socialist Resurrection) Party, then in power, and all other Syrian political parties. Because the Syrians believed that Nasser's ideas represented their own goals and that they would play a large role in the union, they agreed to the conditions.” (Library of Congress) Syria and Egypt joined to form the United Arab Republic (UAR) and in 1958, Nasser was elected president and Cairo was the capital of the UAR. This new state gave Arabs living in the area a sense of pride and unity. However, this Union did not last long due to too many difference population-wise and economy-wise between the two countries. Later, in 1979, Egypt was removed from the Arab League, because other Arab nations felt the Sadat had given up too much in the agreements with Israel. It rejoined in 1989.

Egypt & Israel:
Between the 1950s and 1960s, Arab states did not know how to react to the question of Israel. Because of Nasser’s leadership role in the Arab world, he had responsibilities that eventually led him to the June 1967 war with Israel. However, Nasser’s army was not prepared enough for War and so they were losing rapidly. America came up with a solution: the __Rogers Plan__.

Aid from the US:

“In accepting the plan of United States secretary of state William P. Rogers, he signaled Egypt's readiness for a peaceful settlement of the Arab- Israeli conflict. This meant the acceptance of Israel and acknowledged the role of the United States as a dominant power broker in the Middle East.”

Anwar Sadat, Jimmy Carter and Menahem Begin at the Camp David Accords Signing Ceremony.

Egypt rejected the Roger’s Plan and no success was made in the Arab- Israeli conflict.

Later on, in 1979, US president Jimmy Carter wanted to end the conflict between Egypt and Israel so he signed the __Camp David Accords__, in which the US promised military and economic/financial aid to both countries. It also “called for a formal peace treaty to be signed between Israel and Egypt, within three months [and] for establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.” (CNN) By 1979 Egypt was at peace. “But because the separate peace removed any remaining incentive for Israel to settle on the other fronts, Egypt was ostracized from the Arab world, forfeiting its leadership and the aid to which this had entitled the country.” (Country Studies)